Anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse and performance-enhancing drugs among adolescents

Adolescents use a wide variety of drugs and supplements, including anabolic steroids, to improve their sports performance and physical appearance. Prevalence rates for steroid use generally range between 4% and 12% for male adolescents and between 0.5% and 2% for female adolescents. Although the short-term health effects of anabolic steroids, such as effects on the liver, serum lipid levels, the reproductive and cardiovascular systems, moods and behavior, have been increasingly studied, the long-term health effects are not well known. Steroid users are more likely to be male, participate in strength-related sports, and use other drugs. The effects of many other potential risk factors have not been fully elucidated, however Assessment of anabolic steroid abuse includes physical, mental status, and laboratory examinations. Steroid cessation, supportive therapy, and adjunctive pharmacotherapies are all employed in treating steroid abuse and dependence.